On Subjectivity and Objectivity

          Philosophical debate regarding subjectivity and objectivity has gone on since at least the mid-1700s, when Immanuel Kant wrote that everything was subjective. The idea the everything is subjective in called German Idealism. People might make appeals to quantum mechanics or neuroscience to erode the idea of external reality, but in the end, even those observations are insufficient. However, objective reality and facts are important for science, as well as any conception of justice.

            First, quantum mechanics involves inherent uncertainty. A particle may be here or there, depending on when it was observed. Or maybe several places at once. However, this is compatible with an external, objective reality. Even though there is uncertainty about the particle, its attributes can be described with mathematical equations that are objective and true. So even though there is some uncertainty, this is not the same as subjectivity.

            Second, in materialist explanations in philosophy, the brain represents the world, and everything that we perceive and think takes place in the brain. However, this does not mean that everything is subjective. The brain measures external objects, and then codes them into neural signals. The observation that everything is represented in the brain does not mean that things are subjective.

            In science, facts and reality are necessary. A good science experiment will replicate regardless of who the scientist is. In that way, the experimental findings are independent of who the observer is, and based on external reality.

            For justice, external reality and facts are important as well. Let’s say a person is accused of a crime. He or she is guilty or innocent. We may never know for sure whether the person is guilty or innocent based on the available facts, but that does not change the fact that the person is either guilty or innocent.

            The world is complex, ambiguous, and uncertain. The acknowledgement of this complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty does not mean that the world is subjective. The fact that we may never know the answer to a certain question, does not mean that there is no answer. In this era of political partisanship, keep in mind that facts and the external world are real and important for societal functions.